


Enemies

by avesnongrata



Series: Maria/Natasha Ficlet Collection [10]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Marvel (Comics)
Genre: F/F, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:16:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6238378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avesnongrata/pseuds/avesnongrata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria lowers her gun. "I'll give you one minute."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Enemies

**Author's Note:**

> This scene is set directly before the opening panels of Black Widow #1 (2016)

Maria points her gun resolutely at the center of Natasha's back. It's kind of a futile thing to do; she knows Natasha can incapacitate her any number of ways in this situation. At least holding her at gunpoint offers Maria the illusion that she's in control for now. At least it conveys how deadly serious she is.

Infuriatingly but hardly unpredictably, Natasha spares her only a momentary glance over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the task at hand.

Maria grits her teeth and glares at the back of her head. "Damn it, Natasha, why do you always make things so complicated?"

"Believe me, Maria, I don't like this any more than you do." The waver in her voice takes Maria by surprise, but only for a moment.

"It's getting harder and harder for me to believe that."

Finally, Natasha turns to look at her. She seems tired - weary, really - and, only because Maria knows her well enough to see it, a little scared. Not of Maria, of course. Not of S.H.I.E.L.D. or all its agents who are about to turn on her, but of whatever has Natasha desperate enough to do this.

Natasha's face softens with something like regret. "I miss you being just Agent Hill. Having you as Director Hill makes this all so much more personal than it needs to be."

"Are you trying to tell me this isn't personal? 'It's not you, it's me'?" If this is a ploy to get Maria to lower her weapon, she's not going to bite. Instead, she raises her aim from Natasha's sternum to the space directly between her knit eyebrows. "You are stealing from S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha. Big time. You know I can't just let you leave with that."

"I don't expect you to."

Maria allows herself a small, rueful sigh. "Any chance I can talk you into telling me what's going on? Or convince you to do this some other way?"

"You know there isn't."

Maria tightens her grip on the gun. She'll be in deep shit if anyone ever finds out she hesitated even this long. She hasn't made it this far up the ladder by letting her feelings get in the way of the job. That's why she spent the vast majority of her career avoiding emotional entanglements like the plague: she never wanted to have to choose between her job and her heart.

Then again, Natasha never asked her to.

Maria lowers her gun. "I'll give you one minute."

If she's honest, Maria isn't really sure which of them moves first, but the distance between them suddenly vanishes. Natasha kisses her for a good ten of her sixty-second head start, only to pull away abruptly and take off at a dead sprint.

That's it, then. Of course it is. This was always bound to happen eventually. Maria squeezes her eyes shut and rubs at her aching temples, counting silently. She gets to 58, to 59, to 60, then keys the intercom.

"Attention all personnel. This is Director Hill. Effective immediately, Agent Natasha Romanoff, code-name Black Widow, is to be considered an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"


End file.
